Why Haven't Orioles Locked Up Any of Their Young Superstars Yet?

The Baltimore Orioles are loaded with young talent, so what are they waiting for?

Jul 27, 2022; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias stands oil the field before the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

With the Baltimore Orioles off to a terrible start this season, their front office is firmly to blame.

The Orioles failed to properly address their starting rotation in the offseason, and it's already coming back to bite them. Their starting pitchers have the worst ERA in baseball, contributing mightily to the team's 6-10 start.

While Baltimore fans are disappointed about the team's frustrating winter and start to the season, they're also concerned about the lack of long-term extensions for the club's young nucleus, especially after Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s recent $500 million extension with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Despite being loaded with young stars, the Orioles haven't locked up any of them. In fact, they're the only MLB team since 2019 that hasn't given a player a contract extension of at least four years.

Between Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday and others, Baltimore has plenty of great extension candidates to choose from, so what's taking so long?

Before Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, Orioles general manager Mike Elias finally addressed the elephant in the room.

Mike Elias on potential extensions for the Orioles' young stars:

"This is something that we're working on" pic.twitter.com/mOPsagrrTr

— Baltimore Banner Sports (@AllBannerSports) April 15, 2025

"This is something we're working on. There are guys on this team that we would like to have on this team longer than they're currently slated for," Elias said in a long-winded response. "It's not a point-and-shoot thing. It's case by case."

To be fair, Baltimore can't extend everyone, and evaluating players to decide which ones are worth keeping takes time.

However, it's concerning that the Orioles haven't been able to come to an agreement with any of their young stars in recent years. It's not like they haven't had any good ones to choose from, but perhaps their abundance of young talent is making it difficult to choose which stars to focus on.

That said, Elias needs to show some urgency and start getting some of these deals done. He's losing leverage by the day, and these players are only going to get more expensive over time. The longer he waits, the harder extending them will be.

He doesn't want to end up in a spot where he isn't able to afford any of them and either needs to trade them or loses them in free agency. Just look at the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox, who lost virtually the entire cores of their recent championship rosters.

There's still plenty of time, but Baltimore can't afford to wait much longer. The Orioles aren't made of money, and they're going to have to start making some tough, franchise-defining decisions sooner or later.